NACDS RxIMPACT Awards Recognize Engagement

The first-ever NACDS RxIMPACT Key Contact of the Year Award was presented to Ryan Swensen, PharmD, pharmacy manager, Shopko Stores Operating Co., LLC. The Key Contact Award recognizes pharmacists who actively engage with member of Congress on pro-pharmacy legislative priorities.

It’s not who you know in D.C., but who knows you.

At the NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill in 2012, Swensen met a staff member in then-Rep. Jim Matheson’s (D-UT) office and ended up arranging an NACDS RxIMPACT pharmacy tour with the congressman. When Swensen met Rep. Matheson face-to-face for the first time, he said he was immediately impressed. Swenson went on to volunteer for Matheson’s congressional campaign that year—a tight race—which Rep. Matheson won. Swensen established a meaningful relationship with the congressman, defining a central tenet of the NACDS RxIMPACT Key Contact program. Swensen said, “It’s not who you know in D.C., but who knows you.” Swensen has since developed contact with Rep. Mia Love (R-UT), who won the congressional seat following Matheson’s decision not to seek reelection.

NACDS also recognized Jonathan Lee, a pharmacy student at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, as the 2015 NACDS RxIMPACT Ambassador for his role in inspiring other pharmacy students from across the country to participate in the event. In an article in the American Pharmacist Association’s Student Pharmacist, Lee recounted his positive experience at last year’s event and wrote, “

[NACDS] RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill is an experience that is unequivocally unique to the pharmacy advocate.”

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National Association of Chain Drug Stores

NACDS represents traditional drug stores, supermarkets and mass merchants with pharmacies. Chains operate over 40,000 pharmacies, and NACDS’ over 80 chain member companies include regional chains, with a minimum of four stores, and national companies. Chains employ nearly 3 million individuals, including 157,000 pharmacists. They fill over 3 billion prescriptions yearly, and help patients use medicines correctly and safely, while offering innovative services that improve patient health and healthcare affordability. NACDS members also include more than 900 supplier partners and over 70 international members representing 21 countries.